Friendlier

We discuss our values around getting outside and exploring nature, how we are incorporating it in our family life now, and how we see that changing in the future. Links to things we mentioned:The best sun hat (for kids and adults!)Rain bibsFree Forest SchoolLast Child in the Woods by Richard LouvThere's No Such Thing As Bad Weather by Linda Akeson McGurkLife latelyAbby completed some DIY car repairs that were ever-so-satisfying.Sarah is loving reading chapter books with HP.Reading latelyAbby read We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union and Sarah finished Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.Eating latelySarah has been having picnic dinners with her family and bowl after bowl of the mousse Abby discussed in a previous episode (turns out, doubling it was unnecessary).Abby enjoyed the most delicious flan you will ever eat, made for her by a friend for her birthday. (Email us for the recipe!)If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on the shownotes, email us at friendlier

We share our food philosophies, history with food, thoughts about thin privilege, and how important (or not) the social aspect of eating is for each of us. Here are the resources and links we mentioned this episode:Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane GayAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara KingsolverShrill by Lindy WestOmnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael PollanTell Me I'm Fat episode of This American LifeCatherine Newman's blog and chicken wing recipeCaroline Dooner's F*ck It DietLife latelySarah has started meditating using the Calm app.Abby gives an update on her dog, Tonks. Since we recorded this episode several weeks ago, Tonky's health declined rapidly, and we said goodbye to her on May 31. We miss her lots, and we're thankful for your support and love.Reading latelySarah listened to Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery, a non-fiction book about the history of our cities and how we can design and modify them to

We walk you through the details of a day in our lives, what was atypical, and if it highlighted anything we'd like to change.Life latelyAbby describes her plans for a royal wedding watch party.Sarah shares how terrible she is at choosing paint colors.Reading latelyNow that we are both up to date, we talk all about our favorite mystery series: Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache.Eating latelySarah made a broccoli and mushroom casserole:1 lb mushrooms, sliced1 onion, choppedjuice of one lemon1 large head of cauliflower or broccoli3 cloves garlic, crushedbuttersalt and pepper to tastethree cups rice, cooked (I cook up two cups of brown rice in the Instant Pot)2 1/2 cups grated cheese of your choiceSaute the mushrooms and onion in butter and lemon juice. When mushrooms and onion are soft, add the garlic and cauliflower. Continue to saute briefly and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix all of the above with rice and cheese. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.Abby's been enjoying kringle (a filled pastry treat

We chat about how we define balance, if our lives are balanced now, whether we feel over-scheduled, and favorite resources for getting back on track if we've gotten off balance. Listeners, we'd love to hear how you find the right balance in your life.Simplicity Parenting by Kim John PayneThe Joy of Doing Nothing by Rachel JonatBig Magic by Elizabeth GilbertLife latelySarah's kids are now using her childhood bunk beds.Abby gave herself a new spring look by cutting bangs into her hair.Reading latelySarah listened to An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, which follows the marriage of Roy and Celestial before, during, and after Roy's wrongful incarceration.Abby loved Beartown by Frederick Backman, a novel about a small Swedish hockey town.Eating latelyAbby is making her own chocolate mousse.Sarah is eating whole chickpeas (gasp!), as part of a chickpea salad.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show notes, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram

We share what makes for a good host, our favorite kinds of hosting, what we love (and don't love) about hosting, and our stance on hostess gifts.Life latelyAbby loved having her sister visit for an entire week.Sarah is apparently the last person to discover audio on faster speeds.Reading latelyAbby read This is How It Always Is, a novel by Laurie Frankel about parenting, marriage, and how one couple navigates raising a transgender child.After having multiple friends recommend it, Sarah read The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne.Eating latelySarah's put "easy enchiladas" into regular rotation in her house. Just use tortillas, refried beans, sauce, cheese, and call it good.Abby's been eating deviled eggs, both the fancy and traditional variety. And if you haven't tried boiling your eggs in the Instant Pot, Sarah recommends it--even the freshest of eggs are easy to peel!If you'd like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @fri

We share how closely we follow the news, our favorite (and least favorite) news sources, and our approach to talking about the news with our kids. We'd love to hear how you consume news and any favorite sources you have to share. We reference:1440The SkimmNPR Politics Podcast and Up FirstRaising Race Conscious ChildrenLife latelySarah shares about her family's spring break trip to St. Louis.Abby is teaching a childbirth education class through her yoga studio.Reading latelySarah finished The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, which explores the themes of fate, destiny, and how much control we have over our lives.Abby listened to Still Me, the third book in a popular fiction series by JoJo Moyes. (The first two are Me Before You and After You.)Eating latelyAbby is making fancy bagels: copious amounts of cream cheese, capers, and pastrami flavored smoked salmon (thanks, Trader Joe's!).Sarah found the perfect naan recipe.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show

We discuss our philosophy around fitness, what we like to do for exercise, how we incorporate movement in our families, and what we do to get back on track when we're in a slump. Last year we talked about our participation in organized activities and sports, so if you'd like to hear more about that you can listen here.Yoga with AdrieneMr. Money Mustache on biking in the coldLife latelyAbby met her new niece on a recent trip to Portland.Sarah is looking for listener tips on how to make the walk home from school more fun.Reading latelyAbby read Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, and while she found value there she is also realizing that she may need to take a break from fiction for younger readers.Sarah finished We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates. If you aren't ready to commit to the whole book, she recommends reading The Case for Reparations.Eating latelySarah's been instituting casual dinners when Neil is working late--snacky food, fewer rules.Abby made an udon noodle soup that was okay, but what

We have a lot to say about parenting—our philosophies, reflections on how we were raised, and what aspects of parenting we like best and least. We draw parenting inspiration from many resources, but here are the ones we mentioned in the show:Simplicity Parenting by Kim John PayneHow to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen by Joanna Faber and Julie KingRIE philosophyLife latelySarah is anticipating all of the delicious food she will eat on her birthday.Abby shares about a recent secondhand win: a new coffee table!Reading latelySarah finished Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing, which was this year's National Book Award winner.Abby listened to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.Eating latelyAbby enjoyed a hearty taco salad.Sarah loves these biscuits from Peter Reinhart's book Artisan Breads Every Day.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our website, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.

This week we have a reprise of a previous episode: favorites. This time around we talk about favorite comfort foods, podcasts, french fries, and dates.We'd love to hear your favorites in these categories. Comment on our shownotes, find us on Instagram (@friendlierpodcast), or email us!If you like our reading section, check out the Girl Next Door Podcast Book Club! Erica and Kelsey do a book discussion every quarter, and if you’re listening, you’re in the book club. In their latest episode (out tomorrow), they’re chatting about The Keeper of Lost Things. You can also find them on iTunes and Stitcher. Happy listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've both been with our spouses for more than a decade. In this episode we share what early marriage was like, how our relationships have grown over time, how adding kids to the mix has changed things, and what we love best about our partners.  If there wasn't enough relationship talk today, you can hear us talk all about our weddings in this episode from last spring.We'd love to hear your thoughts and philosophies on marriage and/or partnerships. Comment on our shownotes, find us on Instagram (@friendlierpodcast), or email us! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do you consider reading to be a solitary or social activity? We discuss our experiences in virtual and in-person book clubs, how we use social media as it relates to reading, and what we love about talking with friends about books.This episode is part of a #podcollab with the Reading Women Podcast. This week both of our shows are releasing an episode about social reading. We think Friendlier listeners will love hearing from Kendra and Autumn as they "reclaim half the bookshelf" and discuss books by or about women. Be sure to listen to their episodes, follow their beautifully curated Instagram feed, and subscribe to their show!Learn more about what we're reading and eating, find links to the Reading Women, and sign up for the Friendlier Reading Experience from our shownotes: https://friendlierpodcast.com/reading-with-friendsFind us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast.Thank you for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do you see yourself as a creative person? In this episode, find out which one of us identifies with that label, and hear more about our creative lives, how we cultivate creativity, and where we look for inspiration. Find more info about the books we're reading and food we're eating in our show notes: https://friendlierpodcast.com/cultivating-creativity/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We reflect back on 2017, how well our words for the year held up, what words we chose to guide us 2018.Check out our show notes for more info on our latest reads and eats: https://friendlierpodcast.com/new-years-intentions-2018/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As listeners know, we love to read. We reflect back on our reading life in 2017: what we read, what we loved, what surprised us, and how the podcast has illuminated our different reading styles and preferences.Get links to the books we read in our show notes: https://friendlierpodcast.com/our-year-in-books-2017/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

'Tis the season! We share our overarching gift-giving philosophy, how we budget, collect ideas, and shop for holiday gifts, how our families handle gifts for our kids, extended family, stockings, and Santa, and whether we find gift-giving joyful or stressful. We'd love to hear your thoughts on gift-giving and what works for your family. Email us or share them as a comment on Instagram or on our show notes: https://friendlierpodcast.com/how-we-gift See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Money: the perfect topic to discuss at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. Or if that doesn't seem like it will go over well, just listen in to us talk about it! We share our philosophy around money, how we handle finances in our families, our money hangups, and our financial goals.Check out some of our favorite resources in our show notes: http://friendlierpodcast.com/friendlier-finances/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The craziness of the holidays is nearly upon us, so we thought it would be timely to think about how we care for ourselves, how we prioritize that time, and how our perspective on self-care has changed since becoming parents.You can get specifics about our latest reads and eats, or join in the conversation at our website: http://friendlierpodcast.com/self-care/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We discuss what our reading life was like growing up, what reading looks like with our kids these days, our favorite childhood books, and our hopes for our kids as they become readers.Find more information about food and books we mention in this episode in our show notes: http://friendlierpodcast.com/raising-readers/Enter our Pod-iversary Instant Pot giveaway here (closes October 31, 2017): http://friendlierpodcast.com/pod-iversary-instant-pot-giveaway/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We geek out about the joy and satisfaction that comes from finding what we need, used. We share our history with secondhand shopping, our strategies and go-to places for finding deals, and our favorite secondhand wins. Visit friendlierpodcast.com to enter our podcasting anniversary giveaway!Find links to books, recipes, and more info in our show notes:  http://friendlierpodcast.com/secondhand-wins/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We explore what communities mean to us, what communities we are a part of, the benefits and challenges of being in community, and what our ideal community would look like (commune with all of our friends, anyone?). We'd love to hear about the communities in your lives!Find links to recipes, books, and more in our show notes: http://friendlierpodcast.com/on-community-and-communes/This episode is part of a conversational #podroundup. These four other podcasts are also releasing an episode this week about their takes on the theme of community:25% Friends / Sarah and Kim are 100% friends but only 25% alike. They're two girls who appreciate their similarities, respect their differences, and always find common ground. On their podcast they chat about everything from serious and deep topics like vulnerability and relationships to the fun and silly like their favorite treats and their love for their pets. Cohesive Home / Melissa and Kate, two laid-back moms, explore the topics you most want to hear about-- famil